Is this really why the Mary Rose sank?
A Tudor cover-up hushed up the real cause of how the Mary Rose was sunk in battle nearly 500 years ago, according to the findings of a new study.
New research has come up with a theory that Henry VIII's flagship was undone by a French cannonball in the Solent and not by a freak gust of wind or the incompetence of the crew.
Those ideas could have been put forward by the Tudors in an artful piece of political spin, to ensure Henry's pride remained intact and the French were unable to claim the victory.
University of Portsmouth geographer Dr Dominic Fontana is one of a team of experts whose new theory will be showcased in a TV documentary called What Really Sunk the Mary Rose.
His research involved studying the Cowdray Engraving – a large picture recording many of the events that happened during the battle a mile off Southsea Castle on July 19, 1545.
Dr Fontana used modern mapping techniques to create a virtual 3D account of the battle based on the engraving.
He then combined this data with tidal currents hour by hour over the period of the battle.
Dr Fontana said: 'The Mary Rose was holed by French gunfire received from an advance party of fast, oar-powered galleys which were heavily armed.
'She would have quickly taken a quantity of water into her hull before she manoeuvred to bring a broadside of guns to bear on the attacking French galleys.'
That fateful manoeuvre so that her guns could be unleashed on the French was her undoing because the sudden movement of water in the hold caused her to capsize and sink with the loss of more than 400 lives.
Skeletal remains were found in the hold and some of these are thought to have been the carpenters desperately working in the dark trying to plug the hole made by the cannonball.
Dr Fontana said: 'Those onshore would not have known anything about flooding in the hull caused by a French hit on the ship and it would have appeared as though she had been caught by a freak gust of wind and blown over.'
But the chief executive of the Mary Rose Trust, John Lippiett, said: 'We're open to all sort of interpretations and we welcome this documentary.
'A French eye-witness said the Mary Rose was holed by them but you could equally say that was French political spin'
The documentary will air on the History Channel on November 24 at 9pm.
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Thursday 24 May 2012
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